In back-to-back games in late January, smack in the middle of her team’s second straight undefeated season, Emily Kinneston gave examples of her cool-handed, yet killer approach that had come to define the Champlain Valley Union High School girls basketball team.

Against Burlington, when her team was down early, Kinneston’s demeanor never changed, leading to a second-quarter surge for an eventual 51-27 win.

Two days later and trailing at Rice, Kinneston spoke up during a fourth-quarter timeout, one of the select times she offered to do so, to settle teammates, including a leg-shaking Kaelyn Kohlasch. CVU rallied behind Kinneston’s game-high 22 points and Kohlasch’s dagger 3-pointer for a 59-49 triumph.

“One of the things that none of the girls know how to express, but I can see it, is how much better they all feel when Emily is on the floor,” CVU coach Ute Otley said. “Particularly for her classmates, those seniors that have played with her for four years, it was a subconscious understanding: We are fine all the time because Emily is on the floor with us.”

Kinneston’s intangibles set her apart — and so did her play on the court, retaining the title as the Burlington Free Press’ “Miss Basketball,” an honor given annually to the state’s top player.

“I could see it in the 10th grade — I hadn’t come across a kid that had so much athletic potential, had such a great work ethic and had no ego,” Otley said. “It’s like the perfect combination. And that doesn’t happen all the time.”

While her points per game were down from a year ago — 12.9 to 11.8 — Kinneston also played less minutes in a season in which the Redhawks defeated every opponent by double digits except for the hair-raising, 35-34 state-final win over Rice to secure their second straight Division I title and push their unbeaten streak to 47 games.

“I think it’s been one special ride for this group. We did lose three seniors but it’s been a great time for those that have been here for both seasons,” said Kinneston, a senior who will continue her basketball career at Division I American University in the fall. “The team has been great, the team chemistry has been amazing, both years.”

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Also the Vermont Basketball Coaches Association’s player of the year and Gatorade’s pick as Vermont’s best, Kinneston, in addition to her team-high point total, averaged 4.9 rebounds, 3.2 steals and 2.9 assists per game for a CVU attack that prided itself on balance and unselfishness.

In Otley’s eyes, Kinneston was better this winter than her junior campaign, which was the breakout season Otley had foreshadowed at the team’s 2012 banquet, saying, “I think Emily is the best sophomore in the state.”

“It gave me confidence in myself and gave me an idea of how good I could be,” said Kinneston of her coach’s pressure-inducing prediction. “I had that motivation to try and be the best player in the state and thankfully I was able to rise up to the occasion.”

Otley also called Kinneston, “a reluctant superstar,” but Kinneston served up those leadership qualities at key moments, something Burlington coach Doug Cheeseman witnessed in the aforementioned Metro game in January.

“Did she lose composure? Did she bark at teammates when things weren’t good?” No, she stayed Emily. That was her throughout her career,” Cheeseman said.

Toss in three consecutive girls soccer titles, the last in undefeated fashion this past fall, and Kinneston more than held her own following older sister Amanda, also a multi-sport standout who graduated from CVU in 2011.

“It’s weird looking back at it. I remember watching her teams and thinking how good they were and to think we were able to have a better record than they did is strange to think about,” Kinneston said. “I didn’t think a team could be as good as they were. It’s cool to think about.”